sap: friend or foe of open source? this is the subtitle

SAP: Friend or Foe of Open Source?

Claus von Riegen, Global Ecosystem and Partner Group,SAP AG

Open Source Business Conference, March 17, 2010

Session Goals

Understand the (new) role of open source at SAP

Open Source Benefits

Open Source Challenges

Outlook

SAP Profile

Implement Flexible Business

ProcessesSAP Business Suite

SAP Solutions for SMESAP NetWeaver

The SAP portfolio

Improves Business Insight

Drives Business Efficiency

Enables Flexibility & Innovation

Two completely different worlds?

closed source

The “pure plays” seem to have lost in importance today

closed source

Open Source Software …

… is mature

SAP software runs on platform of choice

1999 2000 2005 2005

… is cost-effective

SAP uses well-known technologies

Hudson

Interoperability

Product Development

Next-Generation Platform

On-Demand Products

… is a means to standardize

SAP contributes proprietary technologies

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q42007 2008 2009

# of approved contributions

Upgraded to EclipseStrategic Developer

3rd most active Eclipsecorporate committer –1.8 mio lines of code

Decided to join 8 Apache projects

Milestones in 2009

… is a means to drive adoption and feedback

SAP goes open source

Eclipse Memory AnalyzerTool to analyze large Java heap dumps – contributed to Eclipse in 2007

BenefitsEnabled collaborationBroad distributionMore testersJapanese version

… can support a business model

SAP makes investments in open source companies

… is cost-effective

… is a means to standardize

… is a means to drive adoption and feedback

So what are the challenges?

… is mature

… can support a business model

… doesn’t always fit

Make it fit!

… comes with its own legal and IP constraints

Proprietary LicensesPermissive Licenses Copyleft Licenses

ApacheMITBSD

EclipseMozilla

Affero GPL

LGPL GPL Commercial License

Less freedoms

Know your software

You need to know the licensing constraints1

You need to know how IP is being managed2

Governance modelContributor agreementIPR policy

CommittersThird-party codeActive IP management

… has its own release cycle

Align closely and provide feedback often

SAP Customer

SAP V1.0Feedback

FeedbackFeedback

SAP V1.1V2.0

… may not cover all non-functional requirements

Quality

Localization

Security

Check quality and supportability

… may be volatile

Use means commitment

Multi-year product support obligationCompliance with local law and policiesIndemnification…

Customers expect compliance, consistency, and continuity

A. Build skill set + engage in open source projectB. Consider third-party support services

… comes with its own legal and IP constraints

… has its own release cycle

… may not cover all non-functional requirements

So how to mitigate?

… doesn’t always fit

… may be volatile

Do your homework

SAP Customer

Inbound

Outbound

Redistribute

1. Apply due diligence (license, community, maturity, industry adoption, architectural fit, etc.)

2. Select only if you can commit long-term (build skills and engage in community)

3. Regularly revisit approach

SAP: where to go?

Why open source?Why open source? Why not open source?Why not open source?

Past: Open Source is a risk

Present: Open Source provides business benefits

Do notcontribute back

Contribute to ensure innovation

Do not go open sourceDo not go open source Go open source toprotect investmentsGo open source toprotect investments

Future: Consider open source based business model enhancements

Open Source: where to go?

Belief: Communities will always matter – but the objects of the collaboration will evolveBusiness process experts modeling business processesIntegration consultants designing service definitionsSystem integrators sharing implementation best practices

Question: How much does source code still matter?Software-as-a-serviceModel-driven development vs. coding

Key Take-Aways

SAP applies a new approach toward open sourceFrom “Why open source?” to “Why not open source?”Contributions to open source projects support business goals

Customers benefitStandardizationMore choice and higher level of interoperabilityFaster innovationProtection of investments and skill sets

Further Information

Open Source on SAP Developer Networkhttps://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/opensource-integration

Follow Erwin Tenhumberg on Twitterhttp://twitter.com/erwintenhumberg

SAP at EclipseCon 2010http://eclipsecon.org/

SAP at OSMB 2009Keynote from Mark Yolton, SVP Community Network, SAPhttp://www.heise.de/events/2009/open_source_meets_business

451 Group blog on SAP and open sourcehttp://blogs.the451group.com/opensource/2010/02/11/sap-as-a-case-study-for-open-source-engagement/

Questions

Thank You!

Questions & Answers

sap: friend or foe of open source? this is the subtitle

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